Tomorrowland festival to go ahead after stage burns down – DW – 07/17/2025
Organizers at Tomorrowland dance music festival said Thursday they spent the "night working on possible solutions" for the main stage after a fire destroyed it, confirming that the event would go ahead.
Flames engulfed the carefully designed main stage, which plays an important role in the vision of the festival, on Wednesday local time.
The electronic dance music festival is one of the biggest in the world and takes place annually in Boom, south of Antwerp, Belgium.
The doors to the festival's campsite opened on Thursday ahead of the two-weekend event.
The main stage was "severely destroyed," organizers said in a statement Wednesday night. But they said no one was injured.
The festival attracts as many as 400,000 people from around the world, with organizers having previously posted a gallery of the stages from prior years.
Photos and videos showed heavy black smoke engulfing the stage. Rogue fireworks appeared to go off in the videos as well, occasionally illuminating the smoke.
Nearby residents were asked to close all windows and doors until the fire was brought under control.
Belgian newspaper quoted a fire chief official Thursday as saying that the "site has been cleared" and it was up to organizers to take further steps.
Organizers said in a statement Thursday that doors to the campsite were open as of Thursday morning.
But they were shattered about the loss of the main stage, writing: "It's impossible to put into words what we're feeling."
Design and music often go hand in hand at the festival that is set to open this Friday, with top DJs like Martin Garrix and Axwell set to perform.
Organizers added that no other area of the venue was impacted by the fire. The cause of the fire is still not clear.
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DW
17-07-2025
- DW
Tomorrowland festival to go ahead after stage burns down – DW – 07/17/2025
Organizers at the Tomorrowland dance music festival said they couldn't "put into words what they were feeling" after a massive fire destroyed the main stage at the festival in Belgium. The festival kicks off this Friday. Organizers at Tomorrowland dance music festival said Thursday they spent the "night working on possible solutions" for the main stage after a fire destroyed it, confirming that the event would go ahead. Flames engulfed the carefully designed main stage, which plays an important role in the vision of the festival, on Wednesday local time. The electronic dance music festival is one of the biggest in the world and takes place annually in Boom, south of Antwerp, Belgium. The doors to the festival's campsite opened on Thursday ahead of the two-weekend event. The main stage was "severely destroyed," organizers said in a statement Wednesday night. But they said no one was injured. The festival attracts as many as 400,000 people from around the world, with organizers having previously posted a gallery of the stages from prior years. Photos and videos showed heavy black smoke engulfing the stage. Rogue fireworks appeared to go off in the videos as well, occasionally illuminating the smoke. Nearby residents were asked to close all windows and doors until the fire was brought under control. Belgian newspaper quoted a fire chief official Thursday as saying that the "site has been cleared" and it was up to organizers to take further steps. Organizers said in a statement Thursday that doors to the campsite were open as of Thursday morning. But they were shattered about the loss of the main stage, writing: "It's impossible to put into words what we're feeling." Design and music often go hand in hand at the festival that is set to open this Friday, with top DJs like Martin Garrix and Axwell set to perform. Organizers added that no other area of the venue was impacted by the fire. The cause of the fire is still not clear.
Int'l Business Times
11-07-2025
- Int'l Business Times
The Main Moments Of Paris Couture Week
Paris Haute Couture Week has wrapped up after four days of shows that featured the end of an era at Balenciaga, the start of a new one at Maison Margiela, and some surprise appearances and absences. AFP looks back on the key moments of the Autumn-Winter 2025-2026 season: Demna bowed out at Balenciaga after a decade in charge with a show on Wednesday that drew the usual smattering of celebrities to the front rows but had some surprise models on the runway. Kim Kardashian channelled Elizabeth Taylor as she walked the room in a sultry slip dress, while veteran French actress Isabelle Huppert appeared in a turtleneck pulled up to her ears. Belgian Glenn Martens debuted at Maison Margiela the same day. Critics praised his bold first steps as a replacement for British design legend John Galliano, who stepped down in January. The New York Times called Martens' "Artisanal" collection, which included thrifted clothing, a "brilliant no-holds-barred debut" while Women's Wear Daily said it "tilted the Paris house in a dark, daring and DIY direction". One notably absentee was Giorgio Armani, 91, who had already cancelled his menswear show in Milan due to health reasons. He also missed the Paris Armani Prive show on doctors' orders. "In 20 years of Armani Prive, it's the first time I'm not in Paris," he said in a statement sent to AFP. "My doctors advised more rest, even though I felt ready." He added that he had "followed and overseen every aspect of the show remotely", stressing: "I approved and signed off on everything you will see." New York rapper Cardi B had a busy week in Paris and seemed intent on out-couturing many of the models. She appeared at the opening show of the week on Monday at Schiaparelli in a traf fic-stopping tasselled neckpiece and posed with a crow perched on her hand outside the Petit Palais exhibition space. The next day, she turned heads at Stephane Rolland, with a sculptural black headpiece that surrounded her like a religious shroud. On Wednesday she was front row at Balenciaga. Floral patterns were everywhere, with the rose especially dominant. Giambattista Valli adorned airy gowns with oversized fabric roses, Elie Saab featured them on princess-style dresses, while Armani Prive used pearl-embroidered roses. Balenciaga incorporated rose sequin prints into a skirt suit and Robert Wun showcased black-and-white roses on a structured strapless crinoline dress. Syrian designer Rami Al Ali made history as the first couturier from his country to take part in the official Paris calendar, choking back tears at the end of his show of exquisitely tailored pieces. Dutch duo Viktor & Rolf delivered a typically playful and sculptural spectacle, while Hong Kong's Robert Wun burnished his reputation further with some striking looks inspired by cinema and theatre. Armani, absent on doctors' orders, said he had overseen 'every aspect' of his collection AFP Cardi B arriving at Stephane Rolland's Haute-Couture Fall/Winter 2025-26 AFP A model wearing a Robert Wun creation in Paris on July 9, 2025 AFP Maverick Georgian fashion designer Demna will move to fellow Kering-owned brand Gucci AFP Chinese model Yilan Hua presents a rose-embellished creation for Elie Saab AFP
Int'l Business Times
08-05-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Global Cult Following Keeps Le Creuset Simmering
They feature in the Duchess of Sussex's "With Love, Meghan" Netflix cooking show. They've been spotted in rapper Snoop Dogg's kitchen. Top chefs can't live without them, and TikTok posts draw millions. For a maker of pots and pans, Le Creuset has had an astonishing global run and cult-like following that nobody could have predicted when the company first set out to produce staple kitchenware in Fresnoy-le-Grand, a modest village in northern France, in 1925. Two Belgian entrepreneurs built what, a century later, is still Le Creuset's home factory in the village of barely 3,000 inhabitants, home of the company's trademark enamelled cast-iron cookware. The flagship Dutch oven model, now available in about 100 colours, started out exclusively in flaming orange, which still makes Le Creuset pots instantly recognisable. With a price tag in the region of 250 euros ($280) for basic cast-iron models -- rising fast for elaborate models or special editions -- Le Creusets are high-end designer creations with a reputation for indestructibility. All the company's cast-iron cookware is still exclusively made in the Fresnoy-le-Grand factory, the centrepieces of which are two giant electric furnaces -- also called "creuset", which is French for "crucible". The furnaces heat molten cast iron to 1,550 degrees Celsius (2,822 Fahrenheit), the melting point for this iron and carbon alloy. The blindingly bright liquid, hotter than lava, is then poured into a transfer recipient, which is automatically carried along a rail. The cast iron is poured quickly into sand moulds shaped by metal patterns to make raw products. The remaining cast iron and sand are recycled back into the manufacturing process. After being ground by robots and stripped by being exposed to bombardment with tiny steel beads, the utensils are glazed with enamel -- a mixture of glass, quartz, clay, water and colorants -- before vitrification at nearly 800C. The resulting variety of shapes and colours presents an industrial challenge, but "really embodies the strength and DNA of the brand," said Frederic Salle, manager of the site. Le Creuset now sells 95 percent of its production abroad, in more than 80 countries, but keeps a tight lid on financial data, which the privately held company is not obliged to disclose. Things weren't always upbeat. When Paul van Zuydam, a Briton with a South African background, bought Le Creuset in 1988, customers had gone cool on the brand. But Van Zuydam, who is still Le Creuset's president, pushed the company's international expansion, established it at the high segment of the market and diversified production sites for non-cast iron products to foreign countries, including China and Thailand. Le Creuset has 575 retail outlets in the world, with online sales having received a boost from a home cooking craze during the Covid pandemic. "The brand is doing very well pretty much everywhere in the world," said Marie Gigot, managing director for France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Like for many global companies, US President Donald Trump's tariff threats are a concern, she acknowledged. "The situation changes every day, so we follow it very closely." But US buyers wealthy enough to purchase Le Creuset products in the past will probably not be put off by any tariff hikes, said Nick Stene, head of home and garden research at Euromonitor, a market research company. "Homes that can afford to invest in the higher price points, especially over $300 for luxury cookware, are the last households to feel the pain when buying power is under pressure," he told AFP. Le Creuset has been "one of the strongest performers" in the homeware category, which has seen around 4.5-percent annual growth since 2019, he said. One major factor of success has been social media, where proud owners like to showcase their Le Creuset to prove they can afford it, but also that they "know how to use it properly", accompanied by hashtags like #LeCreuSlay, he said. "There is nothing quite as efficient as having your customers also act as your ambassadors and marketing team," added Stene. Le Creuset cookware comes in 100 colours AFP Instantly recognisable AFP
